SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
DECEMBER 2023 PART 1
Guan Yin Bodhisattva
Question 1
Sigung, the section on Taijiquan particularly grabbed my attention. I know that Kung Fu is a scholarly art.
— James, England
Answer
Taijiquan is a scholarly art. Shaolin Kungfu is an art of self-defence.
Taijiquan is also kungfu. A few Shaolin Wahnam instructors implied that Taijiquan is not kungfu, which I try my best to correct.
We have to practice Taijiquan, which is kungfu, as a scholarly art. A Taijiquan practitioner must practice combat application and other aspects of kungfu training.
Taijiquan is a scholarly art because age, size and sex are not decisive factors in combat. A Taijiquan practitioner always puts his opponent in a disadvantageous position. One can wear his coat and tie in combat. Of course, he can wear his ordinary clothing.
Question 2
Recently I completed reading your writing on the Heart Sutra.
Answer
The Heart Sutra is very important. It is the sutra that explains Avalokisteshava's (or Gaun Yin Bodh Satt in Chinese) Enlightenment. It is found in the various Shaolin and Zen monasteries.
One may wonder why Avalokisteshava is male, while Guan Yin Bodh Satt (or Miao San) is female. It is because in Cosmic Reality there is no male or female. We, ordinary mortals, experience Cosmic Reality as the phenomenal world where it is differentiated.
The Heart Sutra gives the gist of Buddhism. It explains why emptiness is Cosmic Reality, which is undifferentiated, and is a spread of energy or consciousness.
The Heart Sutra is quite short. I recite the Heart Sutra every day.
James Lawrence
Question 3
And to note on the reduction on training from 100% to around 30% and less. It has been duly noted.
Answer
It is important not to over-train. When I mentioned that a typical Shaolin Wahnam student gets more than 10 timmes what I got in my student's days, I mean it. I was taught by the finest teachers, and I was a fast learner. I was quite well known in kungfu circles.
In our regular practice, we must not practice the same way as we did in our regional or intensive courses. We have to practice below our potential. We must practice at least at 30% or less.
In a regional course I have to complete the course material in a set time, usually in a few hours. It is good for those who want to learn fast.
In our regular practice, we have to practice below our potential, at least 30% or less. How do we practice at 30% or less?
We can take what I teach at regional courses at 100%. If we half the 100%, and half the 100% again, we will get 25%, which is close to 30%. If we find 30% is too powerful, we can practice at 20%, or 10% or 10%. Even 10% is more than what I did in my students' days.
In my students' days, I didn't know how to enter into a chi kung state of mind, and how to generate a chi flow. I learned them while I taught.
We must not over-train. Practicing at potential will lead to over-training. Students take years to learn chi kung, but we do that in a few hours of regional courses, and a few days of intensive courses. Intensive course are of a higher level than regional courses.
Please remember that a person's potential is different from another person. This does not affect my potential. Half my potental to 50% and half again the 50% to get 25%, which is close to 30% or less.
Remember that if you find 30% is too high, you can make your potential less. It takes years to practice genuine chi kung. What most people practice are physical, gentle exercise.
Question 4
I have cut down my daily training and will better guard against overtraining.
Answer
Cutting down your daily training sessions, say, from an hour to 30 minutes, is one way.
There is another way, i.e. not going too deeply in your chi kung state of mind. It is not easy as we train every day, but it can be done.
A good way is to think of something like tensing your muscles. I used to do that when I sparred with genuine masters or professional fighters.
Shaolin Kungfu in Portugal
Question 5
It is my hope that you are doing excellently.
— Alonso, USA
Answer
Thank you for the email.
My wife, I, my children, my grandchildren are doing excellently.
My advice is given in the interest of the person concerned.
Question 6
You have saved my life. I have made more progress following your advice. My practice sessions are the highlight of my day.
Answer
I am grateful that my third sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, asked me to spread the Shaolin arts irrespective of race, culture and religion or the lack of one. The Shaolin Monasteries, the one at Henan and two at Fujian Province, did not believe that one's race had anything to do with life.
Cosmic Reality is undifferentiated but we experience Cosmic Reality as the phenomenal world because of our sense organs. Cosmic Reality is actually a spread of energy or consciousness but we experience the world as a phenomenal realm.
I have four sifu, namely Sifu Lai Chin Wah, who is better known as Uncle Righteousness; Sifu Chee Kim Thong, who is the treasure of the People's Republic of China; Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, who is the third generation from the successor at the southern monastery at Zhanzhou; and Sifu Choe Hoong Choy, who is a Wing Choon patriarch.
Taijiquan in Sabah, Malaysia
Question 7
I have had so many amazing experiences. Guan Yin Bodhisattva always answers with great Compassion.
Answer
Guan Yin Bodhisattva always answers prayers. She is a Bodhisattva of Great Compassion.
Question 8
I have always had great love for the Wahnam family.
Thank you, dear Sifu, for spreading these arts generously and saving so many lives. My aim is to make you very proud in future and become a happy Wahnam member.
Answer
I am very proud of the Wahnam family. The instructors and the students are kind and caring.
The best you can do is to spread the Shaolin arts if you are made an instructor.
LINKS
Selected Reading
- Chi Kung for Peak Performance
- Is Chi Kung against Other Religions?
- A Treasure for Training Energy and Mind
- Ho Family Flowing Water Staff by Sifu Markus Kahila
- Taijiquan -- Combat Application